In Trump’s America, when you fight to defend your neighbors, when you stand up for justice and truth, you become a target. You might get murdered in your home, fired without explanation, handcuffed by unidentified agents, or sent to a foreign gulag. I’m no stranger to this pattern of intimidation.
I received my first death threat long before I ever got elected. For over a decade prior to running for the state Senate, I organized Coloradans to advance immigrant rights, economic justice, and racial equity. In 2018, I asked my community for the privilege and honor to serve them in the state legislature, a position that offers the comforts of access, influence, and power.
It also carries the weight of additional visibility, both to those who believe in what I’m doing and to folks who hate and despise me for it. My loved ones gently encourage me to take precautions. Well-meaning friends suggest that maybe I shouldn’t be so loud, so direct.
Except, that’s the point: oligarchs, tyrants, and their supporters want our voices to shake. Fear is an exceptionally effective motivator, and the intentional intimidation of anyone who challenges them is designed to weaken our commitment to each other. The assassinations of Minnesota State Representative Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark, the shooting of another Democratic legislator, Minnesota State Senator John Hoffman and his wife Yvette – are meant to terrify and shock us all into silence and submission.
On Friday, unidentified “security” members handcuffed Alex Padilla, a son of immigrants and United States Senator from California, bringing him to his knees in a room full of reporters. His crime: the audacity to ask a question about the coldly brutal arrests of his constituents and the unprecedented military invasion of Los Angeles. The fact that they’re now openly cuffing U.S. Senators is a bitter reminder of the vicious treatment endured by so many and too often uncaptured by cameras.
Related Articles
31 Colorado officials seek to scrub addresses after Minnesota shootings, as campaign finance site goes offline 3-year-old shot in Aurora apartment in critical condition Fort Collins police shoot man armed with knife Man fatally shot by Aurora officers responding to family disturbance 1 killed in Denver shooting near Coors FieldDonald Trump, who himself was the victim of two depraved assassination attempts, is demanding that by July 4 he sign into law the largest transfer of wealth from working Americans to billionaires in the history of our country. This “Big Beautiful Bill” will strip away health care for millions, bankrupt states, and line the pockets of the wealthiest people in the world. What do they want us to do in response? Nothing, except to acquiesce. They want us to feel alone, unidentifiable, and afraid.
I don’t know how else to say it: no one is coming to save us. There are no offramps in the social contract that binds this nation together.
“Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” includes the obligation to look out for each other, to lift as we climb, and to help one another out through the hard times. The liars, cheats, and algorithms try mightily to lull you into believing otherwise, but it involves effort from each and every last one of us.
If you disagree with me, so be it. Part of what actually makes America great is our ability to voice our dissent. But even if we disagree, I’ll still live here, both as an elected official and, hopefully, long afterwards. For better or worse, you’re stuck with me.
My door will always be open for a conversation, and even if my voice shakes, I refuse to be intimidated. May my dissenters someday be willing to log off social media, cross the threshold, shake my hand, and sit down for an actual conversation. That is my duty and honor – not only as an elected official, but as an American.
It’s why seeing countless Americans join the “No Kings” rallies across the nation, in big cities and small towns, makes my heart swell with hope and pride. No one is coming to save us, but Americans will save our sweet land of liberty from authoritarianism when we come together, united across age, party, creed, and race to demand that no matter how much is in your bank account or what zip code you live in, that we all live by the same rules.
No matter how many military tanks Trump rolls out – this is our America, not his.
Colorado state Sen. Julie Gonzales represents Senate District 32 in Denver.
Sign up for Sound Off to get a weekly roundup of our columns, editorials and more.
To send a letter to the editor about this article, submit online or check out our guidelines for how to submit by email or mail.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( As a state lawmaker, I’ve faced death threats but refuse to let political assassinations, like the ones in Minnesota, silence me (Opinion) )
Also on site :